All the things I’m (not) going to get done in November

Like many people I start each January with a list of resolutions of all the things I’m going to accomplish during this calendar year. You know the list – ambitious, optimistic, unrealistic goals. Most people give up on their New Year’s resolutions by March and have forgotten all about them by April. Not me.

I stop actively pursuing those goals by March, but I tell (lie to) myself that I’ll get back to them. November is generally the month that I drag out the list and convince (lie to) myself that it’s not too late – that I just have to make an aggressive game plan, and maybe scale back a bit. Why November? Because I don’t want to get bummed out (drunk) New Year’s Eve, ruminating how I didn’t check any items off my resolutions list. And because I’m realistic enough to know I’ll be much too busy in December with Christmas stuff.

Lose weight. I know I’m not going to lose forty or fifty pounds like I’d planned in January. But I can still lose thirty. A pound a day, right? Plan: eat only green things that have almost no calories, except for a thin slice of pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving alongside my thin slice of lean turkey breast, no gravy.

Get my home organized. Color code everything. Pare down my belongings. Embrace minimalism. Make room for joy. Plan: Invite Marie Kondo to move in with me.

In addition to getting serious about my New Year’s resolutions, I signed up for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in which participants write a 50,000-word novel during November. I figure it should be a cinch once I get organized. And as soon as I figure out how to use Scrivener the novel will practically write itself, right?

You probably won’t see me (anymore than usual) on Facebook this month. Wish me luck!

Are you serious about New Year’s resolutions, or goals in general? Do you devise a game plan to meet your goals? Anybody else attempting NaNoWriMo? Share in the comments.

VICKIE FEE, author of the LIV & DI IN DIXIE cozy mystery series, is giving away CATNAPPED! – a free original Liv & Di short story exclusively to her e-newsletter subscribers! Sign up for a free e-newsletter subscription through Nov. 14. The fall newsletter with a link for the FREE download as a PDF, or as an e-file for Kindle or Nook, will be e-mailed to subscribers on Wednesday, Nov. 15. (If you’re already a subscriber, you’re already on the list! And your e-mail address will never be sold or shared.)

I gave up on New Year’s Resolutions. It was always the same: lose weight, cleaner house, more exercise. Last time I dared to weigh, I had lost 2 lbs since the beginning of the year. But I ate peanut butter cookies for dinner last night so those 2 lbs are probably back. The washer and dryer died so I bought two new ones with twice the capacity which means there is less laundry dotting the landscape, so that’s an improvement. But all kinds of good things have happened that I’ve been plugging along on.

Too funny, Vickie! I relate to the lose weight one. That’s been on my list for twenty years. You’ll have to tell me how Scrivener is. I go back and forth on buying it. I fear it’s one of those things I’ll buy but never get around to learning and using.

I have Scrivener installed too! But I had already made a way to do the things it does, at least the features I’d use, so after I watched the tutorial, I never opened it again. (Hey, maybe it’s sonething about the tutorial—since we both wandered away after. Lol.)

Love this post. I’m always making lists and failing to accomplish the things on them. Oh well.

I must be on the same schedule- I started reading a book on minimalism. I’m sure I will finish reading this helpful (fantasy/fiction) book by the end of November- may have to add the implementation to next year’s list.